Acceptance
by xxxMissAlicexxx
Summary: Within this world, there are things that people choose not to acknowledge, however they will suffer in their hatred and jealousy. That's why there needs to be acknowledgement, there needs to be acceptance. Even if people around you don't accept yourself, your words, or your choices.


**Hello to everyone who clicked on this story. This is an entry to Kiku Nakamura-san's contest in case you're wondering. I hope that you enjoy this one-shot. I don't own this anime/manga. **

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**Fine's POV**

There are many things that I don't want to acknowledge as reality. I don't acknowledge them, because I'm afraid of them. There's one thing that I dislike the most out of all those things and that is the person I love, marrying someone else. Something like that will happen very soon, and that is a fact. In a week, my precious twin sister will marry the one that I love the most and that is reality.

I can still clearly remember that day where Shade told me that he was proposing to Rein, I remember Rein's happy expression when she told me that she's getting married to the man who she loves, the man who I loved. That was about 8 months ago and I've been crying all that time, every single night with my heart shattered into pieces.

I just don't understand. Why did he choose her over me? I've loved him ever since the first time we met. While Rein thought that you were a mean and weird person, I thought you just couldn't always express your feelings well. I was always nice to you wasn't I? Hadn't I always tried to make you smile? But in the end you still chose her over me and she loved you in return. Why was she the one who won your heart? It's unfair... Since we were kids until now, I've only been in love with you but you never saw me as a lover, you barely saw me as a friend. It's just cruelly unfair...

I sighed. There's no point spending the day thinking about this in bed, I've got stuff that needs to be done. I got up and got dressed. I looked around at all of the packed brown boxes and sighed again. I need to get these boxes shipped over to my new apartment in New York soon, or else I won't be able to have all of my things with me when I get there. But I don't want to think about it at this minute. I want to go get something good for breakfast. I grabbed my purse and headed down to a nearby café.

"One cinnamon apple muffin and hot chocolate for here," I ordered, handing the person money. I should probably stop thinking about that. Really, its hopeless right now...

"Thank you for your patronage," he thanked, handing my order to me. I went to a table and bit into my warm and sweet muffin. Crumbles fell down as I continued to eat. I sighed for the third time today. I need to stop thinking like this. Rein and Shade are happy, that should be enough for me, but still I can't stop these feelings in my chest. It's just painful...

I really need to think about different things. Like if I'm going to the wedding or not. Rein was really bugging me about it last week. It's the same day that I have to leave for America. The flight's at 10:40 and the wedding starts at 10, but the church and the airport have around a 10 minute distance from each other, so it's not impossible if I go. My apartment's really far though... Ergh! Why couldn't I have chosen a closer apartment to places?! But then again, I really never expected me to climb this high in the sweets company that I work at. Who knew that my love of sweets and tongue would be good for deciding which candies and pastries would be best sellers?

"Fine, is that you?"

That voice… I looked up at the man with dirty blonde colored hair. "Bright..." A minute past by without either one of us saying anything or moving so I asked, "Why don't you sit down, Bright? It's better to have company." He sat down across from me. The awkward silence was coming back again... "So what's up Bright? It's been a while since I've heard anything from you. Anything happened?"

"Not that much has changed," he informed me as I crumpled up my muffin wrapper. "So... are you going to Shade and Rein's wedding? Shade told me that you still haven't decided if you were going yet." I didn't say anything and just stared at my coffee cup. I'm actually scared of going. I'm afraid of opposing to everything making Rein sad.

"I...don't really know yet," I say with a fake, cheery smile on my face and a wondering expression. "I have an important flight that day, that I really can't miss, or I'll get in trouble with my company and then they might fire me but-"

"Fine, are you still in love with him?" Just then, the mask fell from my face and I glared at the coffee in my hands, staying quiet. What can I say? It's the truth and it's true that those feelings will never bud into anything more. "Fine, we're already in our twenties. You've been in love with him for at least 10 years. Face it, he's getting married. Let him go. The more you cling to his image, the more painful it will be for you. Just let him go. He won't love you like how you love him." I know... I know what he says is the truth, but that doesn't mean that I'll acknowledge it. Just not yet... Don't tell me what reality is. "Fine, is there really nothing that I can do to make you forget about him?" Bright asked reaching for my hand on the table. "Can't I do anything for-"

I pulled my hand away from his. "I'm sorry." This person is the same as me. We desperately want the one that we love to be in love with us. We've both been in love for a long time, longer that some people would be in relationships, but our love will remain unrequited because the people that we are in love with are in love with another. "I'm sorry Bright. I can only think of him as a lover while I can only think of you as a beloved brother. I'm sorry," I apologized, standing up. "I've got to go ship some boxes, so later. Maybe I'll end up coming to the wedding after all and see you there."

I walked out of the café quickly, so he wouldn't stop me. I wiped my eyes on my sleeve, so no traces of me wanting to cry appear. That was close. I was going to cry in public. I got out my phone and dialed a moving company. I soon closed my phone after the small chat. My things will be there by the time I get to New York. One week... I only have one week left here and one week before Rein gets married. With my heart like this, maybe I should just skip the wedding, but then when I come back again, Rein will be really upset. Can I even go to that wedding without thinking that I wish it was me by Shade's side? Suddenly my phone rang again. Rein... "Hello?"

"FINE! WHAT DO I DO?!" I put the phone away from my ear. What the… "FINE MY DRESS DOESN'T FIT ANYMORE! WHAT SHOULD I DO?!"

"Rein, calm down. I can't understand you and people are starting to stare at me," I whispered, glancing around at nearby people who were giving me strange looks. "You don't have to explain slowly, just explain at a volume that doesn't make people look at me."

I heard her take a deep breath. "Okay, so I tried on my dress today and I found out that it just doesn't fit anymore, it feels like it's too big on me. Fine, what do I do? The wedding's in a week and the people who I would call to fix my dress are out-of-town and I have no time to go find another dress and there's no time left and- what do I do Fine?"

"Calm down Rein. I'm sure that it's just your imagination. I'll be over there soon to help you fix it, so don't worry," I said trying to reassure her that everything will be fine. "Yes. I'm pretty close by, so I'll be there in a couple of minutes. Don't worry; I'm sure we can fix it. See you in a bit." I hung up and sighed. Just go Fine. Rein is worrying about her big day and you as her sister should go help her.

The second I walked through Rein and Shade's apartment, a bullet ran towards me and hugged me. "Fineeeee! I'm so glad that you came! Help me!"

"Okay, just calm down and put on your dress Rein," I said gently pulling her off me. She soon came out wearing a beautiful dress that made her look like a princess. Laced ribbons adorning a silk white gown, with a beaded bodice; white really looked good on her. "Let's see, so it's big around the stomach..." I grabbed a safety-pin as started fixing it. "You've been too stressed out with your wedding plans. Have you been eating properly?" Rein blushed and muttered out an excuse. "That's not good if you ignore your health. You need to eat properly."

"I know! It's just that I've been really busy lately."

"That's not a good excuse!"

"I know! I just really wanted this to be like my dream wedding. In a setting fit for a princess, I want the person I love next to me as we walk down the aisle. Then Mother, Father, you, and everyone that's a precious friend to me are smiling at us as we say 'I do,' "she told me closing her eyes to picture everything.

My hands stopped moving for a minute. "Rein, you really love Shade don't you?"

"Of course! We're really happy together and we can really trust each other a lot. I thought that I was in love with someone before, but compared to this feeling... before my feelings for my 'loves' were worthless. I hope that you can feel the same one day Fine, with your special person," Rein hoped, giving me a smile that made me detest myself.

"Hopefully," I lied, smoothly. No one would fall in love with me. No one falls for a woman who's thinking about someone else. I probably won't be able to wear a wedding dress. "Now hold still." I tied a laced ribbon over the safety-pin. "How is it?"

Rein twirled around. "It's perfect. Thanks Fine!" She hugged me. "I can't wait until the wedding! Everything's perfect too." Then Rein spoke in a quieter voice. "Well... maybe not everything..."

"What's wrong Rein?" I asked as she changed back into her normal clothes. "Did the cake shop not have those edible silver sugar designs and the sugar flowers that you wanted?" That's weird; I've been to that shop so many times before and saw them...

"As always, you never really think about anything besides food." She gave out a small giggle, which quickly faded. "But, it's not that, Fine. You still haven't said if you're going or not." I didn't say anything as she continued to speak. "Come on Fine. I know that you've been really busy with your job and your job is important to you, but can't you at least come for just a little while? Even an hour would be fine. Or even 15 minutes if you're really busy. I really want my favorite sister to be there, even if she's not the Maid of Honor like I wanted." Before I could answer, the door of the apartment opened and a man walked it; the man that I fell in love with so long ago, who's marrying my sister. "Shade, welcome back! How was work?"

"I'm back," Shade said as he gave Rein a peck on the cheek. "Work was fine as always." Rein giggled and they went off into their own little world. I clutched my hands into fists and forced myself to take deep breaths. Of course they would act like this, they're getting married soon… Come on Fine, you can't be like this now… "Ah, Fine. Welcome, what are you doing here?"

"She helped me with my dress," Rein answered for me. "It looks wonderful!"

"Oh, I can't wait to see you in it. Have you already asked her?" Rein nodded. My eyebrow rose and look of professionalism graced my face. "From the look on your face that must mean that, you're not coming Fine?"

I shook my head. "I really need to focus on my job. It's really important and it would be a good experience. I already tried to see if I could move the dates, but they already brought the tickets for me before they even told me." Amazingly, I did check that, thinking that my sister would want me at her wedding, no matter how much it pained me. "I'm really sorry, but I promise to make it up somehow."

"Well, if you really can't make it, then it should be alright." I really hate the way he just said that. It makes me feel like he's relived that I'm not going to be there. Well... Shade does have eyes, so he might've noticed that I've been in love with him for around 12 years or something. He just doesn't want me to ruin their happiness.

Soon, I found my voice and mentioned, "Well, I should get going. The moving company should already be at my apartment to ship my things. Maybe I'll see you guys next week?" A faint smile played over my lips.

"If you don't come, then I'll tell you everything over the phone. Promise you'll come back as soon as you can," Rein asked, with hopeful, happy eyes.

"I promise I'll come back when my work's all done and my bosses are nice enough to give me a vacation." But who knows what's going to happen by that time? Rein and Shade will probably have kids who are a couple of years old. I slowly walked back to my apartment. But it's fine, they're happy, so shouldn't I be happy too? I should be happy, I need to be happy.

I kept telling myself that for a week. I need to accept this, for my adorable sister and for the man that I loved with all my heart. If I loved them, I should wish them happiness. If I love them, I should be able to accept this with a smile.

I nervously sat in a seat, clutching onto my only suitcase that I wanted to carry myself. I looked at my watch. 10:25... I should probably go through the gate. Before I went through, I took one last look at the glass doors that lead outside. They probably already finished the ceremony... I took a deep breath. I already accepted that this was going to happen, so what's with this feeling in my chest? I feel uneasy... "Attention all passengers for the 10:43 flight to New York, the flight is being delayed due to some broken wires and other minor problems. It will be 40 minutes before we are able to take off. We're sorry for the delay," the speakers announced.

40 minutes... My feet started running in the direction of the church. I need to be there, even if it's only for 5 minutes, I need to at least say that I'm happy, and that I've accepted their marriage. I need to let go now, or I'll never be able to go and see my happy sister without any regrets. I ran as fast as I could.

When I reached the church, I could already see Rein and Shade outside in their white attire who were getting blessings from everyone. I quickly walked towards them. "Fine? What are you doing here? I thought that you had a flight right now?"

I took a deep breath and bowed towards Shade. "Please take care of Rein!" I looked up at the new husband and wife, who were in shock. Maybe I shouldn't have said it that loud... Who cares! "I hope for your happiness and, if you dare cheat on her Shade, I swear I'll get on a jet to fly here and nothing good will come from me visiting, because I would probably kick you across the country, then sue you for something random and make you go to jail for a good 10 years," I declared. I looked up at them and smiled. "Congratulations, you two. I hope that you two can have a happy life together."

Rein stepped from her place besides Shade with a beautiful smile on her face to hug me. "Thank you so much for the blessing, Fine. I'm guessing you can't go to the reception?"

"I can't. I have to go run back, before I miss my flight." I pulled away from her. "I'll see you soon Rein. I swear" I walked away from the scene, looking down. Then I saw a familiar pair of shoes. "Bright. Are you going to make fun of me for wishing happiness to her?"

"Are you going to be able to forget him?" I shrugged my shoulders like all life was sucked out of me. "Why are you doing this to yourself? I don't want you to be broken, Fine. Why can't I help you with this?" His voice was on the brink of tears.

I was afraid to look at him, but I looked up at him. Tears were streaming down my face but my lips were curved into a smile. "I'm sorry Bright."

"Fine? Why are you-"

His hand reached for my cheek, but I held the hand, preventing him from touching me."I'm sorry Bright…I don't want you to become more like me, that's why you can't help me. Let me go, Bright. Go find someone who loves you as much as you love them. I'm really sorry for all the years that I've caused you pain, so please. Just let my image fade from your mind and go look for your own happiness. I can't love you the way that you love me. I just can't…"

Bright put my hand down. "What's going to happen to you now Fine?"

"I'm...I'm going to forget about him as a lover, and try to look at him as a brother," I decided right then. "That's only suitable isn't it? He's my brother-in-law now." Bright look held pain and pity. "Bright, you knew that from the very beginning, didn't you? That Rein would choose him and he would choose Rein." He didn't look at me, but I knew the answer anyways. "Thank you so much for trying warn me before it started. Thank you for all these years of being near me." I sniffled, my face probably looks terrible, but I continue to give Bright a blessing, "I hope that you can find someone who loves you as much as you love her." It's what he deserves after all. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a flight to catch."

I let go of his hand and turned around. Before I could take two steps forward, he shouted, "Fine!" I turned around once more to face him, who was wearing a brilliant smile. "Good luck."

Smiling, I nodded, "Yeah." I ran over to the airport and hurried through all the security checks. I took once last look behind before I went through the hallway that leads to the plane. Even though I can't hear anything, I know, I know that my cute sister is smiling. May you be happy, Bright, someone will come for you soon and give you happiness. I'm sure Rein and Shade will be happy no matter what too. Maybe one day I can be happy too. At the very least, I've accepted that I can't be his wife, because his happiness does not lie with me, it lies with her. I've accepted the fact that Rein is the only one who can make Shade happy.


End file.
